


ink

by wbtrashking (fan_nerd)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Gradual Relationship, M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-11 01:45:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12924681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fan_nerd/pseuds/wbtrashking
Summary: Kageyama decides to get a tattoo. This leads him to a cheeky red-haired artist with a golden lip ring, a big attitude, and a flair for the dramatic, but his ink work is impeccable.Sugawara finds the whole situation hilarious.Kageyama thinks Hinata is an idiot and an asshole, but he hangs out with him anyways.





	ink

**Author's Note:**

> for the sake of storytelling convenience, this doesn't really deal with the negative stigma around tattoos in japan.
> 
> enjoy! ♥

Kageyama is not a particularly adventurous person.

Still. He passes a tattoo parlor every morning when he goes on a jog, and he finds himself thinking that it would be cool to get one. Thinking about the ink spilling over his shoulders makes him shiver when he dares to dream.

He starts saving up a lot of money. His current internship’s pay is pretty lavish, all things considered, because his friend had helped get him the job. Once he’s ready, Kageyama goes to the shop. He’s never backed down from a challenge, and he doesn’t plan to now.

“Hey.” A guy in a muscle tank greets Kageyama when the chime on the door rings. “How can I help you?”

This part is somewhat challenging. Kageyama doesn’t have any definitive concept of what he wants to put on his body forever, and he’s not very sociable. He hopes that he doesn’t sound angry as he says, “It’s my first tattoo, and I guess I’m just trying to figure out where to start.”

“Mm, that’s a pretty common thing to hear.” Kageyama is surprised by that, and it must show on his face, because the guy smiles. “There are books with the artists’ portfolios over there, and some pictures up on the walls behind you. Take a look around, see which style speaks to you. We can work from there.”

Kageyama studies each album like he’s cramming for a test. The easy chatter floating through the place becomes white noise the more he flips through everything. Once he gets to the fourth book, his eyes get a little wider.

The lines are rugged and swift—most of the works in this album look more like abstract ink wash paintings than traditional tattoos. Eventually, he pauses at one picture, a tidal wave with one rider on the surf, and underneath the image, there’s neat cursive that reads ‘ _ride’_. “This one,” Kageyama says at last. “Which artist did this?”

“That’s Hinata’s work,” the greeter replies with a proud little smirk. “He just joined our team a couple months back, but he does some pretty neat stuff.”

Kageyama’s long fingers trace over the plastic protector of the picture. “Yeah.”

“I can arrange a meeting with him this week, if you like?”

The brunette contemplates turning him down for a moment before shaking his head at himself. _Take the leap_ , he thinks, and turns to the other man. “I would. I’m only available after five, though.”

Kageyama watches the guy click through several things before finding the calendar, and he hums approvingly. “You’re in luck. He’s got one spot open on Friday at six-thirty. That sound good?” He nods. “Alrighty. Well, here’s a card for the shop. My name’s Iwaizumi, and I own the place, so you can always shoot me an email if you have questions and I’ll answer you as quickly as I can.”

Kageyama takes the card with a little wonder shining in his eyes, and walks out of the tattoo parlor in a haze.

 

//

 

Sugawara gapes at Kageyama when he hears the news. “ _You’re_ getting a tattoo?” His emphasis on the word makes his friend scowl and the older man snorts. “I mean, good for you, Kageyama. I’m just surprised. You don’t seem like the type to spend money on that sorta thing.”

Kageyama thinks that his parents would disapprove of him doing something like spending hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on intricate body art, but they haven’t really been a part of his decision making in years. His college tuition is covered, he works, pays his bills, and he doesn’t really have any hobbies outside of coding.

He figures that it’s time to do something for _himself_. “I like tattoos.”

Sugawara smiles and snorts again. “Well, you’d better, if you’re getting one.” He pulls out his phone a moment later and Kageyama glares at him. “What? There’s _no_ way you could keep me from telling Daichi about this right away. Breaking news: Kageyama’s growing up.”

When Kageyama growls, Sugawara just grins and laughs. There’s not a moment where Sugawara has been intimidated by Kageyama’s surly behavior, and, when Kageyama’s not busy being cursing at him, he appreciates his friend’s wily temperament.

 

//

 

The first thought that Kageyama has about this meeting with the artist is that the artist himself is short. Like, _really_ short. Kageyama’s around six feet tall, so having almost eight inches on the guy is pretty wild.

Despite his height, however, Hinata _does_ look like a reliable tattoo artist. He’s got bright patterns and designs spilling out of the sleeves of his t-shirt, and his lip piercing catches the light when he takes a seat in front of his client.

“Heya,” Hinata greets brightly, a collection of dark, chunky rings sitting on the fingers of his left hand. “Kageyama, right?”

“Yeah,” Kageyama replies quickly, “That’s me.”

“Cool.” He has a sort of restless, happy energy about him, Kageyama notices. He’s small, but he takes up a lot of space. Ginger hair, a face dotted with light freckles, and the flashy tattoos; Kageyama can see why he’s a frequently requested artist. “So, any idea what you wanna do?”

“Not really, no.”

“That’s alright.” Hinata digs a small sketchbook out of the pockets of his pants. “What kinda stuff do you like?”

For as long as Kageyama can remember, he’s been messing around with computers. As the result of having no other siblings, he’d grown up figuring out how to amuse himself. His parents had never been completely absent. They’d been kind and patient, willing to listen to him if he had difficulty with school, or had trouble with the other kids in his classes. The way they’d let him grow up had made Kageyama self-sufficient.

In short, he can’t think of anything other than coding that really speaks to him. He’s good with computers and precious little else. “Dunno. I like coding small games for fun, I guess, and I like going running. The things I notice when I go for runs in the morning are interesting.”

“Like what?” Hinata’s eyes are wide open, and he’s so genuinely invested in what Kageyama’s saying that Kageyama finds himself warming to the shorter man quickly.

“I like the way different dogs react to strangers on the path, and how birds pick at things on the sidewalk until people come too close to them. Little stuff, I guess.”

“Let’s start simple,” Hinata offers, sticking his tongue out as he sketches. Kageyama watches his hand move like wildfire, impressed. “Maybe something with birds picking out computer keys. Do you like any particular symbol associated with coding?”

Kageyama asks for Hinata’s pen for a moment, swiftly drawing two angular brackets with a forward slash in the middle of them.

“What’s that mean?”

The brunette blows his bangs out of his face and replies, “It’s just the ending of one block of code in HTML. It means that the easy part is over, and that the hard part is just getting started.”

Hinata laughs in face at that, and circles the mark. “Okay. Nice and straightforward. I like it.” Hinata licks his lips, running his tongue over the piercing at the top left corner of his mouth. When he looks back up, Kageyama feels a little awkward about the way he’d been staring. “Tell you what. We can book an appointment for a month from now, if you put in a down payment. I’ll draw up a few things, you can tell me what you like, and we’ll get started. How’s that sound?”

“Yeah,” Kageyama quietly replies, feeling pleased. “Sounds good.”

“Okay.” Hinata stands up, offers Kageyama his hand, and shakes it before flouncing off to one of the offices in the back. “See you soon.”

The dark-haired man stares after him until he’s gone, making his way to the lobby counter slowly.

 

//

 

Kageyama has lunch with Sugawara and Daichi every once in a while.

That is to say, Sugawara and Daichi drag his sorry ass out of his apartment every other weekend and force him to go to new restaurants around town, just so that he won’t sit around and work himself stupid all the time.

Sugawara’s been Kageyama’s friend since high school. Since they’d been two years apart in classes, the older boy had tutored the brunette in math and science, leaving his history and literature classes to the wayside. He’d often lamented Kageyama grades, because the younger boy had been _so_ good with coding languages, but Kageyama had explained himself simply. “I dunno. Coding and computers make sense in context. Everything is one piece of the puzzle. The other stuff that makes it work, like math, just gets in the way.”

He’d helped Kageyama pass physics, _barely_ , and they’d kept in contact once Sugawara had gone off to college. Though Kageyama had taken a two-year break from education after he’d graduated high school, Sugawara had called him, told Kageyama about his post-collegiate plans to move and work for a fantastic new company downtown, and Kageyama had been intrigued.

“Ah,” Sugawara had warned him with that teasing lilt to his voice, when they’d talked, “but they only accept college grads. You wouldn’t do something silly like going to school and majoring in computer science, would you? That’d mean you’d have too much on your plate.”

Sugawara has been able to play Kageyama like a flute for years, and his jeering had worked, of course. Here they are, years later, the spring before Kageyama's due to graduate. He had applied for an internship at Sugawara’s company and he’d been accepted. Kageyama’s not stupid, though—he knows that Sugawara’s strong recommendation had helped him get the job.

Today at lunch, Sugawara and Daichi are relaxed and, as always, they’re acting like an old married couple, quipping with each other while they pick off of each other’s plates. Daichi had met Sugawara in college, and they’d hit it off immediately. Though Kageyama had initially been awkward around the two older men, now they’re as familiar as relatives to him, and it’s easy for him to sit back and just watch them.

Sometimes, he’ll jump in and argue with one of them about stupid stuff, but even he admits that he’s acting weird this afternoon.

Though Sugawara has been eying his friend all afternoon, Daichi is the first one to speak up. He wipes his boyfriend’s mouth with a napkin before smiling patiently at Kageyama. “Something the matter?”

“Mm,” Kageyama mumbles back in response, jabbing his chopsticks into his mouth with a frown. “Not really.”

When he offers no other explanation, Daichi turns to Sugawara, who smiles. “Ah, right. You’re getting your tattoo. How big is it supposed to be?”

“Dunno,” Kageyama replies honestly, shrugging. Both of the older men seemed unsurprised by his nonchalance. “Hinata told me to leave everything up to him, and I figured I should trust him. It’s his job, after all.”

Now, Daichi _is_ surprised by that sort of behavior. Kageyama’s been bullheaded and determined to be right about any and everything as long as he’s known him – but maybe it’s just because Daichi is mediocre with computers at best.

“Like I said,” Sugawara muses softly. “He’s finally growing up.”

Kageyama narrows his eyes at the ashen-haired man and Sugawara whistles innocently in response.

Daichi flicks his boyfriend on the nose. “Stop teasing him, Suga.” Putting on his best responsible voice and ignoring Sugawara’s theatrical pout, he turns back to Kageyama. “Are you nervous? It could take a while, if it’s intricate.”

The younger man blinks at him a few times. “Do you have a tattoo, Daichi-san?”

Daichi rolls up his left sleeve and flashes a grin at Kageyama. There’s a tattoo of a crescent moon that has a deep swirl of patterns inside of its’ curves. Over his tanned muscles, it rests proudly. “I love the moon, y’know? _Always strive for greater heights_ , or something. I mostly got it because it looks cool.” He offers Kageyama a reassuring look. “Just relax. You’ve seen what the guy can do already. The only thing I ask is that you try not to bite the guy’s head off, because you can be a little abrasive with strangers. You’ll have to sit there and play nice for at least an hour or two.”

Kageyama’s face contorts and Sugawara laughs at him openly. “Kageyama, he’s not going to quiz you on the finer points of biology. Most people like to chat while they’re putting permanent ink on your skin.”

“You already met with him for a consultation, right?” When Daichi asks the question, Kageyama nods, so he continues. “Did he seem nice?”

Kageyama thinks back, recalling blindingly ginger hair, flashy rings, flashy jewelry, and a fine-honed glint in his eyes when he’d started sketching out ideas. “Nice enough, I guess.”

Sugawara and Daichi share a look, and the ashen-haired man grins wolfishly. “Coming from you, that’s practically a confession.”

In response, Kageyama fumes quietly so he doesn’t stand up and strangle Sugawara in public.

 

//

 

“Evenin’,” a rose-haired young man greets Kageyama from the lobby this time. He must stare awkwardly, because the guy smiles and asks, “Looking for Iwaizumi?” Kageyama nods and the other man chuckles. “I’m Hanamaki, another artist here. He’s with a client tonight. You have an appointment with Hinata, right?”

“Yeah,” Kageyama says, shrugging his bag off of his shoulder.

“Just wait on the bench right here. I’ll go grab him for you.” When he stands up, Kageyama takes his appearance in quietly. He has a silvery clasp at the top of one ear, with several thin chains that link to a stud in his lobe, tattoos up and down his arms, and he walks with an easy gait to his steps. When he comes back, chatting with Hinata, Kageyama notices that he has a septum ring between his nostrils that looks delicate, and he winds up staring at that until Hinata is close to him, waving in his face.

“Heya,” Hinata’s voice is chipper, and Kageyama wonders how on earth the short man stays so energetic. “You ready to see the designs?”

He nods and follows Hinata into a brightly-lit computer room, and the redhead sits and fiddles with the mouse for a minute or two with his tongue flicking out of his mouth for a moment. Before he can stop himself, he asks, “Is that a habit of yours?” The ring there is thin and gold, and it’s hard to miss. “Messing with your lip piercing, I mean. Is it because it hurts?”

Hinata laughs at him and Kageyama immediately scowls at the sound. He _hates_ feeling stupid. “Not really. I mean, I’ve had it in for a while. I guess I’ve never noticed that I do that.” A moment later, he pulls up his files, walking Kageyama through them. Though the brunette is still disgruntled, he leans more closely to Hinata to see the monitor. “For the first one, I got caught up in the bird part, I guess.” It’s a fairly realistic drawing of a bird picking keys out of a keyboard, and one of the keys is further in the foreground, with the close-bracketed symbol on it.

Kageyama wrinkles his nose and Hinata laughs. “Yeah, it’s not my favorite, either. Here’s the second one, then.”

It’s a drawing of a raven, or something similar, and it looks a lot more flowy. The bird looks as though it’s been watercolored, caught mid-flight. It has a broken key in its’ claw, and the closing bracket rests below the picture.

“This one,” Kageyama says quickly, nearly jabbing his finger into the screen in his hurry.

Hinata looks up at him with fire in his eyes, beaming at the taller man. “This one’s my favorite, too.” Kageyama’s lips quirk upwards and the redhead gasps in shock. “So, you _can_ smile. Good to know.”

Kageyama may acknowledge Hinata’s artistic talent, but Hinata’s personality rubs him the wrong way and he makes the taller man oddly flustered.

“Well, you put two-hundred down last month, and I put you in the book for a four-hour session tonight. We’ll probably have another three hours left for next time, so if you go to the counter, Hanamaki-san will get you checked out, and I’ll get the stencil ready.”

Following instructions, the taller man pulls his wallet out of his bag and makes arrangements with the rose-haired artist before Hinata comes back and brings him into the studio. The redhead asks if he’d like the tattoo on one of his arms or his back, and Kageyama opts for his left arm. He cleans the skin quickly once Kageyama takes off his button-down, flicking his tongue out as he works, and Kageyama rests his eyes, relaxing a bit.

“So,” Hinata starts once he has the drawing safely in place, “What do you do, Kageyama?”

Kageyama offers Hinata a withering glare, but the redhead seems undeterred, preparing his tools with steady hands. “I work in website design and application platforming.” When Hinata stares at him in wonder, he clarifies by saying, “I code. A lot.”

“Nerd,” Hinata teases and Kageyama rolls his eyes. He tests his needle out a few times before he instructs Kageyama to relax his arm and he gets to work, beginning with a bold outline and feathering some of the softer edges.

Most of the session is quiet, with Hinata asking a few other things about him. He wants to know good places to eat in town – he’d just moved to the city six months ago, and Kageyama hums at that knowledge.

He learns quite a bit about Hinata within that time frame as well. That he has a little sister; that he loves meat buns; that he’d loved art from a young age, but had only become a tattoo artist in the last two years. He’s a little loud, but Kageyama finds that the more time he spends with the redhead, the easier it is to relax and get excited about the drawing on his skin.

“Ah,” Hinata says, grinning a bit, “You pulled a face. Did that hurt?” The outline is getting close to Kageyama’s elbow, and yeah, the latest mark had stung a bit, but the dark-eyed man refuses to admit his weakness. “It so did – I can tell. We’ll take a break for a few.”

Kageyama scowls, but he figures it’s a good time to pause. He needs to go to the restroom, and he figures that Hinata probably needs a drink of water or something, too. When he comes back, Hinata is sitting in his chair and humming. “What’s that song?”

“Dunno,” Hinata replies. “Mix between something I made up and something I heard online the other day. Ah, I’ve been playing whatever I felt like all night, but did you have something you wanted to listen to?”

“Not really,” Kageyama answers. “I’m not a big music person.”

Hinata gasps. “ _Betrayal_. I thought I could trust you, Kageyama.”

Kageyama simply rolls his eyes and sticks out his arm. “Whatever.”

The rest of the session goes swimmingly, with Hinata prattling on about whatever he feels like. When it’s finished, he encourages Kageyama to buy a couple products to help take care of his tender skin, and writes his phone number down on a piece of paper. “You can call the shop or text me if you have any questions, okay? See you in a few weeks.”

With that, Kageyama leaves the parlor and yawns. His arm feels prickly and his legs are stiff from four hours of sitting.

 

//

 

Kageyama has no intention of calling Hinata, because he’s stubborn, but he finds himself giving in and texting him less than two days later.

 _it’s kageyama,_ he starts, scowling at his phone like it’s wronged him somehow. _i looked it up and i know it’s normal for my skin to be itchy, but how itchy is too itchy and what should i do about it?_

An hour or so later, Hinata calls him, his laughter loud and buoyant over the phone. Kageyama regrets everything. “ _Dude_. Unless you’re red, have a rash, and you can’t breathe, I’m pretty sure you’re just being overdramatic. Put some of that cream on it—the one you bought from the shop. The one I told you to buy _for that_.”

Kageyama stares at the label on the container. “But it says it’s for tattoo protection. How is it going to help me stop feeling itchy?”

“ _Oh my god_.” Hinata is full-on gasping for air, and it is at this moment, with cheeks red from embarrassment, that Kageyama decides he hates the redhead. “It’s just to help keep your skin moisturized, prevent the ink from fading too fast. You’ll be alright.”

“You’re so unprofessional,” Kageyama mutters darkly, and Hinata just laughs at him again.

“Well, we’re the same age,” Hinata replies, “and I’m not at work right now, so I think I reserve the right to tease you for panicking over some dry skin.”

“Asshole.”

“You’re welcome.”

//

 

Sugawara begs to see the tattoo first thing Monday morning, but Kageyama just gives him a look. “Ah,” the older man hums knowingly. “It’s tough to move, right? Which arm did you get it done on?”

“Left,” Kageyama answers. “I’ll show you when we go to lunch this weekend – I’ll wear a t-shirt.”

“Oh?” Sugawara has _never_ heard Kageyama volunteer to go on one of their excursions. It could just be that Kageyama has gotten used to four months of Sugawara and Daichi dragging him out, but Sugawara’s instincts tell him otherwise. “You’re being awfully obedient. Did something happen last weekend?”

Kageyama’s brow furrows and Sugawara laughs. “My tattoo artist, Hinata. He’s weird.”

“How so?”

Remembering the last few days, when Kageyama had texted casually with him about random things, and how angry he’d gotten at Hinata, he feels disgruntled all over again. “He gave me his number on Friday.”

Sugawara blinks at him in disbelief, trying to figure out Kageyama’s reaction to this. “And you…ignored him?”

“No, I started texting him. He’s stupid, though. He’s the only person I’ve ever met who _forgot_ to get a spoon for his cereal and decided to wait until it was soggy and drink the mush. That’s fucking nasty.”

Sugawara can’t help it; he doubles over, tears of mirth in his eyes. “So, what. You’re annoyed because you’re crushing on him or something?”

Rewardingly, Kageyama’s face turns dark scarlet. “Crush— _no_! I texted him to ask him about something with my _tattoo_. He’s the one that started talking to me about whatever he wanted to. He’s new in town, and I think he just wants to hang out with somebody his age, instead of people who just want quick designs done.”

“Hmm,” the ashen-haired man hums knowingly once he finishes wiping his face.

“Don’t you _hmm_ me, Suga-senpai. I can see you smirking.”

“Well, he’s new in town, and your internship’s a year long. If the two of you have hit it off, why don’t you hang out with him?”

Kageyama stares at his computer screen blankly after that, wondering if it would really be that easy, making friends with his tattoo artist in the city.

 

//

 

_would you want to go to lunch on sunday? i go with two other guys that’re dating sometimes, and you were complaining about how you never have anything to do on the weekends._

A few minutes later, his phone rings and Kageyama clicks his tongue. “ _You_ were the one that told me to text you, dumbass, so why d’you always _call_ me?”

“I’m usually out running errands or something when you text me,” Hinata grouses. “It’s too much trouble to text neatly when I’m walking around. Anyways, yes. Lunch sounds fun. Where’re we going, and what time?”

“I’ll text you the info. Not that you’ll _read_ it.”

“Hey now,” Hinata yelps, “I always read your messages, I just don’t always text back. Screw you.”

“Yeah, yeah. See you then.”

“Later.”

//

 

Next to Sugawara, Daichi, and Kageyama, Hinata looks fantastically out of place, dressed in dark black capris and a white graphic tee, his colorful tattoos decorating all four of his limbs. Still, his appearance isn’t the first thing the older men notice about him – it’s that Kageyama furrows his brow and starts berating him for being late as soon he’s close enough to hear.

Daichi whistles at Kageyama’s tattoo work as they have a seat and he pulls up his sleeve so that both he and Sugawara can study it. Beside him, Hinata preens proudly, happy that all three of them appreciate his work-in-progress.

Once they’ve placed their orders, Hinata looks up from the menu and glares at Kageyama, fearlessly poking him in the temple. “ _Also_ , I’m only late because you gave me the wrong address. I ended up looking for this place online instead, and thank goodness I did, or I wouldn’t have made it at all.”

“You’re not _that_ much better with directions than I am,” Kageyama mutters, though his accusation is groundless.

“I used to live in the sticks,” Hinata chastises him with a huff. “I rode my bike all over town, and I take the train to work every day. I bet you were lost for weeks when you moved here.”

Sugawara immediately cackles and Kageyama turns up his nose. The ashen-haired man says, in a whisper that is completely meant to be heard, “He sure was. He called me in a panic on his first day at work because he couldn’t find the entrance to the building.”

The redhead _beams_ and Kageyama glares at his friend. “Called it.”

“Behave,” Daichi finally says, pinching the skin around Sugawara’s beauty mark. “It’s nice to meet you, Hinata. How’re you liking it here so far?”

“It’s great,” He chirrups in response, soliciting soft smiles from the older men. “I learned how to do tattoos from a friend back home, and I’ve worked in a parlor before, but there’s really nothing like practicing with pros, y’know? Iwaizumi-san is a great mentor.”

Just like that, the four of them wind up chatting over lunch, and Kageyama is the most talkative that Sugawara and Daichi have _ever_ seen him be, though most of his comments are launched at Hinata. For all his constant griping that Hinata doesn’t think things through, and that he’s ridiculous, there’s something refreshing about their mutual sniping at each other.

Sugawara watches them with a keen eye, filing his observations away for later.

 

//

 

Though Kageyama’s tattoo appointment is still several weeks away, he winds up spending a surprising amount of time with Hinata. Hinata chides him one weekend, snorting and telling him, “That’s because you don’t have any friends,” and Kageyama snarls at him.

It winds up being so comfortable that Hinata and Kageyama start meeting up at each other’s apartments to save money, crashing on each other’s couches some nights and relaxing. Kageyama quickly learns that Hinata has no manners, and also that he doesn’t care about the redhead’s lack of social grace—he’s never been praised for his own talents in that arena.

The one thing that _does_ surprise him about the redheaded artist is that, for all of his flare, knack for wild hand gestures, and open willingness to throw his arm around Daichi and Sugawara’s shoulders when they meet up, he’s awfully careful with Kageyama. When Kageyama asks about it, Hinata blinks up at him in wonder.

“I dunno,” Hinata replies, furrowing his brow. “You don’t seem like the touchy-feely type, Kageyama. I figured it was better to respect your space. Why? Do you want me to hug you or something?”

Kageyama’s cheeks burn bright red and he sputters. “What? _No_ , dumbass. I was just asking because, I dunno. It’s weird. It’s weird that you have _no_ issue sprawling all over my damn couch like you own the thing, but you won’t, like, touch me.”

Hinata immediately reads into the last bit, which Kageyama had mumbled, with a lewd perception and Kageyama's flush grows scarlet. The redhead snickers and says, “Oh, Kageyama-kun. All you had to do was ask.” After saying that, he moves his legs so that they rest in Kageyama’s lap. “Seriously though, I’ll adjust. If I do anything you don’t like, I know you’ll yell at me, so I guess I’ll stop trying to act so reserved with you.”

“Good,” Kageyama huffs, feeling appropriately disgruntled and sour, as is his usual temperament. “Now shut up so I can turn on a movie.”

 

//

 

Realization dawns on Hinata’s face as he jogs up to the tattoo parlor and claps Kageyama on the back as a greeting. “Y’know. Like a month back, when you were bein’ all weird about how I wouldn’t touch you,” he starts, immediately drawing attention from Iwaizumi and Hanamaki.

The older men stare at Hinata and Kageyama at the loud statement and the tall brunette flushes and scowls, quietly berating the redhead beside him.

“Oh, shaddup, Kageyama. Nobody cares about what I’m saying. _Anyways_ , when you brought that up, I remembered that you weren’t freaked out when I was doing your tattoo. You were pretty calm about it, all things considered, and I had to pull your skin taut for like. Four hours.”

Kageyama offers Hinata the blankest stare he can muster, feeling flustered rage ooze from his pores. “Yeah. Because you’re my _tattoo_ artist. Your job involves delicate needlework. If I hadn’t trusted you to touch me, I wouldn’t have gotten a tattoo in the first place, stupid.”

“Only stupid people call other people stupid,” Hinata jeers, and Kageyama smacks him on the back of his head. “Ow.”

Iwaizumi snorts at the exchange, putting a hand on his hip. “Nice to see you’ve made a new friend, Hinata.”

“Izumin and Lev wanna meet ‘im, but Kageyama’s shy around strangers.” Kageyama swivels to throw a confused scowl towards Hinata. “What? Just because Suga-san’s your only other friend doesn’t mean I can only have one friend.”

“I can’t believe other people have the patience for your energy,” Kageyama mutters.

“Excuse _you_.” Hinata walks into his studio and fiddles with his drawers. “Just for that, I’ll tell Yacchan that you don’t think she’s real anymore, heartbreaker.” Kageyama’s heard Hinata talk about the woman, but he’d honestly believed them to be long-distance friends—that she and Hinata had met online and stayed in touch, but nothing more. “Oh, geez, I’m just messing with you. She’d love to meet you. I talk about you all the time, since you’re my closest friend _now_.”

That sounds much more satisfying to Kageyama, so he relaxes his shoulders. “Well, you don’t really talk about other people when we’re together. How’m I supposed to know that you have other friends?”

“Jerk,” Hinata mumbles good-naturedly, but his insult is dashed by his blinding grin. “Get comfortable. You’re wearing a t-shirt underneath that, right?”

Kageyama rolls his eyes as he takes off his button-down. “Duh.”

Hinata sticks out his tongue and messes with his lip ring while he concentrates, preparing his tools. He pulls his bangs back with a headband this time, and he gets so focused that he goes silent as he tests his needle. Then, once he’s ready to go, he grins up at Kageyama and asks if he’s ready. Kageyama nods, and the soft buzz of the needle joins the lilt of rock music and show tunes in the background.

//

 

“He said that?” Sugawara waggles his eyebrows and smiles coyly. “He said you were his closest _friend_ right now?”

There are days where Kageyama wants to put Sugawara’s brain under a microscope and figure out why everything that Kageyama does is so damn _funny_ to him. “Yes?”

“Hmm,” Sugawara hums. Kageyama glances at him warily, wondering how in the hell Sugawara manages to get such glowing reviews from his peers and superiors if he spends so much of his time gossiping.

Exasperated and fully aware that this conversation won’t end until Kageyama humors him, the younger man looks up and sighs. “C’mon. Spit it out, Suga-senpai.”

Sugawara grins. “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just, don’t you think Hinata’s kind of cute?” If Kageyama had been confused before, now he’s _completely_ lost. “Don’t make that face. He’s not my type, but he’s sweet. Always bubbly, friendly, kind of bold. You two suit each other.”

Kageyama thinks back to the last time he’d spent the night at Hinata’s apartment. Hinata had challenged him to a wrestling match and cheated to win. Then, to make matters worse, he’d spent an exorbitant amount of time messing with his golden lip ring, teasing Kageyama for some reason. Kenma, Hinata’s roommate, had watched the whole thing go down with a sly expression.“He’s an asshole.”

“So are you,” Sugawara quips back, and with that, he flounces off, looking as pleasant as a spring breeze as he leaves.

 

//

 

Kageyama finds himself twirling curly ginger locks around his fingers one evening while Hinata lies in his lap and starts suddenly. “Oh.”

“Sup?” Hinata’s eyes flick upwards at the noise.

“Nothing. Just realized I’m supposed to go home and graduate in a couple months.”

“Lame,” the redhead whines, digging his head into Kageyama’s thighs. “Do you still have classes to take?”

“Sort of. They’re online, though. The place where I intern offered me a fulltime position and I already accepted. I’m not really feeling the ceremony.”

“Well, hey, at least you went to college. That’s more than I can say.”

“If it makes you feel better,” Kageyama says, “I only went to college on a dare, and I got A’s in all of my major classes. The rest of it was shit.”

“Fair enough.” That’s the last thing Hinata mumbles before he dozes off. Kageyama joins him quickly afterwards, though his legs go numb, and he wonders when, exactly, this part of their friendship had become so routine.

 

//

 

“We’re looking forward to having you back in a couple of months, Kageyama-kun.” Kageyama’s boss is a somewhat muted older man with a soft smile, and the younger man bows to him respectfully as he speaks. “Enjoy your rest time.”

They’d given him the time off, though he’d insisted he hadn’t needed it, so, in the end, Kageyama makes plans to go back home for a few days and visit his parents. On the night that he packs his things, Hinata invites himself over and Kageyama procrastinates terribly by running his hands over the tattoos on the redhead’s skin.

“What’s this one mean?” There’s a small, dark bird etched onto Hinata’s shoulders that has a bandage wrapped around one wing. It’s still flying, rising from something that Kageyama can’t see through his tank-top.

“It’s from something an old friend said to me once.” Hinata smiles fondly at the touch and hums. “Something about how crows could fall, break, and land in the garbage, but that they’re resilient, like me, and able to fly back up, no matter what.” He snickers a bit. “It’s sort of like a personal interpretation of a phoenix.”

Kageyama’s palms coast over the risen skin for another twenty minutes, asking more questions, and Hinata finally slaps his roaming hands off and snaps at Kageyama to hurry up and throw his shit in a bag.

The moment Kageyama is finished, he flops back on the couch, where Hinata has been playing on his 3DS. The redhead saves and closes it when he hears Kageyama sigh. “Are you really that nervous about going home?”

“It’s fine,” Kageyama quietly insists. “My parents are nice enough.”

Hinata gives him the _look_ before he speaks. “But you don’t want to go.”

Kageyama wrinkles his nose and frowns. “They really are fine, though. There’s just not much to do back there.”

Hinata knows Kageyama well now. He knows that Kageyama is awkward, and that he can be abrasively brash, but there’s more to the story that he’s not telling. The best guess Hinata has is that going home brings back bad memories for the brunette. There’s got to be _some_ reason he doesn’t have friends other than Sugawara, Hinata is sure, but he won’t pry.

Instead, he sits up, kneels over Kageyama so that he looms over him on the couch, and tilts Kageyama’s head back for a quick, searing kiss. When he licks his lips, his tongue stops over the lip ring, and he smiles softly down at other man. “Kiss for good luck. _Relax_ , Kageyama. It’s just for a couple of weeks. You can text me when you’re really bored.”

There are a lot of things Kageyama could— _should_ —say in this situation. The first of which being, _why did you kiss me, stupid?_ The second being, _I don’t need luck._

Instead, he finds himself wrapping his arms around Hinata and breathing him in for a minute. He always smells faintly of ink and candy, and that’s so familiar to Kageyama now. “Okay,” is all he manages to say when he pulls out of the hug, and Hinata kisses him again on the temple.

 

//

 

 _missed out on a killer beef bowl today!!_ Hinata texts Kageyama a picture of himself, Sugawara, and Daichi with full cheeks. Kageyama opens his phone and rolls his eyes, typing quickly as he walks to the convenience store.

He replies, _don’t chew with your mouth open, stupid,_ and locks his screen just in time to bump into an old classmate. It should probably be less awkward than it is. Instead, Kindaichi and Kageyama offer each other terse apologies and stare each other down until they walk into the store.

“So,” Kindaichi comments quietly, eyes glued to the sprawling ink on Kageyama’s left arm. “You got a tattoo?”

Kageyama is so close to saying, _yeah, obviously_ , but he holds his tongue. “Yeah. A couple months ago.”

The conversation _should_ die off there. Kindaichi looks like he’s eyeing the produce section, like he’ll nod and zoom off, but, oddly enough, Kageyama doesn’t feel as terrible as he’d expected.

He and Kindaichi had been in several advanced classes together throughout high school, though he’d thought Kindaichi’s ideas outdated and his work lazy. They’d had to submit a group project together, and gotten into two physical altercations in senior year, though Kageyama hadn’t been sure why Kindaichi had swung his fists until _his_ best friend came around and explained.

It had been messy, but here they are, almost twenty-five years old, and Kageyama almost feels _pleased_ to see a familiar face in the countryside.

“Hey,” Kageyama starts, frowning hard. “I don’t remember if I ever apologized about our last fight, but I’m sorry.” Apologizing has become easier with time, for Kageyama. “You didn’t do a _bad_ job. I think I was just upset that you and Kunimi wouldn’t try harder. Both of you were smart, but you didn’t apply yourselves.”

Maybe he’s still a little stung about that; sue him. But this is the most honest he’s been with Kindaichi in years, and he doesn’t feel like dragging him outside of the store to finish the conversation with his fists.

Kindaichi blinks at Kageyama in wonder before laughing deeply, wiping away the sudden mirthful tears from his eyes. “Well, _no shit_.” Once he regains his breath, he sighs and says, “You could’ve been a little bit nicer about telling me that.”

“Hinata says that I don’t know how to hold back,” Kageyama replies. “He told me that, if I _had_ to say what I really meant, I should finish my thoughts completely. Says I snap and just make noise, sometimes, and nobody understands that.”

Kindaichi barks out another quick laugh at that. “Well, whoever Hinata is, he was right.” He nervously scratches the back of his neck, bitterly chuckling. “And, you know. Thanks. For the compliment.”

“No problem.” With that, Kageyama nods and wanders off, leaving Kindaichi floored.

 

//

 

In the evening, Hinata sends Kageyama a text asking how his day has been, and Kageyama replies, _call me_. Moments later, when his phone rings, the redhead’s voice is loud and ecstatic. “You _wanted_ me to call you? Call the police, the apocalypse is nigh.”

“I’ll hang up this fucking phone,” Kageyama threatens, meaning every word. Hinata snickers, unfazed.

“Anyways, why’d you want me to call? Must’ve been a real exciting day.”

Kageyama leans back against his pillow. “Did you ever have anyone you fought with in high school?”

Hinata snorts. “ _Duh_. There was this jerk named Tsukishima who was in my art class—”

“Didn’t ask.”

“You did so!”

Kageyama rolls his eyes and keeps talking. “I ran into this guy I didn’t get along with in high school, but it was fine. I thought he’d be a lot more upset with me.”

“Well, high school was a long time ago,” the redhead replies with a small hum. “And for your information, the rest of my story was about how Tsukishima and I got into one big fight. It started because I wanted him to admit that his senior portfolio concept came from a desire to be more open with his emotions. He _yelled_ at me, and you have to understand, this guy thinks it’s cool to be a brooding artist, or whatever. Almost kicked my butt, because he’s so tall, and said, _you don’t get to tell me I need to open up. I already know_. Isn’t he an asshole? Well, he’s still my friend, though. He became my friend _after_ that.”

The dark-haired man whistles at that. “Wow. How’d you manage that?”

“Persistence. A general lack of care about people being jerks. Sort of the same way I became friends with you.”

“Fuck you.”

After that, Hinata chatters for a bit and Kageyama listens. It’s comforting, because Hinata isn’t beside him, so at least he can hear his voice. When he starts getting sleepy, Hinata notices and chuckles. “I’ll let you go. Tell your parents I said hi.”

“They don’t know who you are,” Kageyama replies, and Hinata huffs.

“So, _tell_ them about me first, and then tell them I say hi. Dummy.” He yawns a bit and Kageyama pulls a face. “Yeah, yeah. I’m going to bed soon, before you even ask.”

“Good night.”

“G’night.”

//

 

The rest of Kageyama’s trip home is fairly quiet. He’s reminded how small the town is, because everyone remembers him and they remark on his tattoo with varying expressions. He jogs, sleeps, fiddles around with a basic game he works on when he has free time, and grows restless.

By the time the tenth day has rolled around, his boundless energy makes his parents curious. His father has always been rather quiet, so he doesn’t comment outwardly, but Tobio’s mother can read her son like a book. “If you need to go talk to Hinata, it’s alright. You’ve already finished eating.”

Tobio flushes lightly and sputters. “Who needs to talk to him? I’m _fine_.”

Even Tobio’s father has to snort at that. His mother continues with a soft smile, saying, “Tobio, relax. Your father and I are okay with you seeing a man. It’s something new to get used to, I’ll admit, and things won’t always be comfortable for you, but it’s your life. We’ll always accept you, no matter what.”

Kageyama’s head _reels_. He wonders where his mother has gotten this strange perception about his and Hinata’s relationship. Kageyama wonders what _he’s_ said to make her say these things to him. Mostly, he wonders if Hinata—whom he currently misses terribly, though he’ll _never_ admit that to the redhead—would be mad about the assumption.

With a start, remembering the good luck kiss Hinata had given him before he’d left, he figures that no, Hinata probably wouldn’t mind.

“It’s…he’s…” Tobio’s words trail off and he hides his face a bit, trying to think of a polite way to word his thoughts. “He makes me feel all _gwah_ ,” he finally finishes, and both of his parents cover their mouths as they laugh.

Later, when he tells Hinata what had happened at the dinner table, the redhead laughs at him, too. “Well, I feel _gwah_ about you too, Kageyama, so hurry back, okay? It’s boring without you around.”

Kageyama spins those words around in his brain until he falls asleep, an uncharacteristically large grin decorating his features.

 

//

 

When Kageyama makes his way back to the city, he immediately gets off at the stop near Hinata’s apartment and knocks on the redhead’s door.

Hinata’s roommate, Kenma, lets him in with a quick, quiet nod. He calls for Hinata and he bounds out of his room with wide amber eyes, beaming when he fully realizes who’s standing there. “Heya. You should’ve called or something. Hurry and come in.” Kageyama wheels his bag in behind him and is unsurprised when Hinata suddenly hugs him.

Kageyama _is_ surprised by his own involuntary reaction, which is to hug Hinata back. He rests his chin on Hinata’s hair, feels the familiar raised skin of the tattoos on his arms, and sighs in relief.

“You missed me, huh,” Hinata murmurs, curling his fingers in the fabric of Kageyama’s t-shirt.

Kageyama grunts, but he doesn’t deny the claim. It’s true, after all.

“Well, come in. I was watching some show just to pass the time, but you should come hang in my room instead of crashing on the couch tonight.”

The words are carried with weight, and Kageyama finds himself growing warm as the shorter man drags him forward by the wrist.

 

//

 

Sugawara waves at Kageyama on his first day back to the office. “Welcome back. How was your trip?”

Kageyama shrugs. “Fine.” The ashen-haired man raises an eyebrow and the ebony-haired man rolls his eyes. “It really was fine. I got back two days ago. Plenty of time to rest and all that.”

The younger man hates it when Sugawara stares at him. He’s way too perceptive. “I thought you’d be angry, trying to work from home the last two weeks, but you’re quiet. Something good must have happened. I’m just trying to figure out _what_.”

Kageyama swivels around in his chair and fights down a sudden blush. “Nothing happened, Suga-senpai.”

Sugawara just hums at that and Kageyama feels doomed.

 

//

 

Kageyama talks about the plans for his next tattoo, getting it on his back, and Hinata runs his hands over the taller man’s spine. He rucks up Kageyama’s shirt, and Kageyama is, quite honestly, feeling overheated. Strange, because it’s autumn now, and the room is cool.

Hinata is a warm weight against him, and his breath on Kageyama’s skin is torture. When he leans down and presses his lips to Kageyama’s neck, the brunette feels the gold ring skid over the sensitive area and he shivers. Suddenly, he blurts out the question, “Why’d you kiss me back then, when I was about to go home?”

“I like you, stupid,” Hinata mumbles, fingers ghosting over Kageyama’s hips. “Thought that was kinda obvious.”

“Oh,” Kageyama says, and then he’s turning on his side to kiss Hinata breathless. He’s inexperienced and clumsy, but Hinata grabs him by the jaw and guides the taller man patiently. They kiss for several minutes, breaking away to breathe and change positions so that their legs are slotted together, and Kageyama feels like he’s flying.

Once Hinata fully pulls back, tongue flicking over that damned lip ring before he speaks, he says, “You like me too, but like I said, I wasn’t sure how you felt about physical contact. I have a better idea of your boundaries now.”

Hinata rolls his hips and Kageyama moans. When the redhead smirks up at him, Kageyama is equal parts furious and unbelievably turned on.

Kageyama’s in too deep, and he’s _just_ figured out that he likes Hinata. It should be strange, that Hinata is asking to do more—to take off his clothes, to kiss him places aside from his neck and lips—but it isn’t.

“Well, if it’s okay with you,” Hinata starts, cracking his knuckles, “I’m going to blow you. Stop me or say no if you don’t like it, okay?”

“If it’s you, I’ll like it,” Kageyama mumbles. Hinata smiles at that, slowly unbuttoning his pants.

“You’re being awfully kind tonight, Kageyama-kun.”

“Oh, shut up.”

It is in that moment that Kageyama knows that dating Hinata is going to become an inevitability, and the experience is going to be as absurd as it is fantastic.

 

//

 

The next time Kageyama and Hinata have lunch with Sugawara and Daichi, the ashen-haired man looks smug as all hell. Kageyama grumbles.

“I _knew_ it,” Sugawara says, pointing to the two of them. They’re holding hands underneath the table, and Hinata teases Kageyama ruthlessly. Kageyama snarls back, of course, but his face is dark red, so his insults don’t carry their usual intensity. “I just wanna say that I called this _months_ ago. Daichi owes me twenty bucks.”

“ _Babe_ ,” Daichi whines softly, but Sugawara simply smiles beatifically. It’s a terrifying expression to every other person sitting there.

“I won’t ask for details here,” Sugawara continues, “but Hinata, I expect you to call me and tell the whole story later.”

“Don’t you _dare_ ,” Kageyama warns his boyfriend, and Hinata just blinks up at him with faux-innocence.

“Hmm,” Suga hums. Both Daichi and Kageyama hang their heads in resignation.

 

//

 

One night, after Hinata has sex with Kageyama, taking the brunette from behind and leaving bite marks all over his back and shoulders, the two of them flop down on the mattress naked. It takes a while for Kageyama to get his energy back, especially since Hinata is as energetic in bed as he is everywhere else. Once he finally does, though, he lazily runs his fingertips over the crow tattoo on Hinata’s shoulder and back, over the ogres on his right side; over the fine-lined kanji characters and geometric shapes that curve around his thighs.

Though he can tell Hinata is getting a little sleepy, Kageyama asks, “How’d you know that I liked you, anyways?”

Hinata makes a soft noise in the back of his throat, turning his neck so he can quickly kiss Kageyama. He smiles. “Dunno. You were my first friend in the city, and you never turned me down when I asked to hang out. Though you don’t let many people close to you, you let _me_ in, and I guess I just put it together.” Then, suddenly, he leers. “Although, I _was_ sure that you thought I was hot. I figured that out the second time I met you.”

“What?” Kageyama scowls at him. “How?”

Hinata licks his lips and Kageyama gulps, watching the movement intently. “You were the one who pointed out my habit.” After saying that, he tongues his lip ring intently and Kageyama feels sweat start to bead at his temple. “You kept staring when I’d do it, so I figured that you must have liked what you saw.”

“I did,” Kageyama blurts out helplessly, fire burning under his skin all over again. “I _do_.”

Hinata looks a hell of a lot more aware all of the sudden, wriggling one arm underneath Kageyama’s and pulling the taller man in for a long, deep kiss. Kageyama stubbornly teases Hinata’s lip, making the redhead groan.

“Yeah?” Hinata rolls their hips together and Kageyama hisses lowly, feeling himself get hard again.

“Yeah,” he replies, and the two of them go for another round, making it quick and messy and loud.

 

//

 

Kageyama walks into the tattoo parlor to make a booking to start his second tattoo, and Iwaizumi stares at him with a soft, proud smile. “Hey. Hinata tells me you’re going out now. Congrats.”

The younger man flushes lightly, nodding. “Thanks.”

“You’re all paid up and you’re on the book for three weeks from today. He’s back there, if you want to say hi.”

Kageyama walks to the back and chats with his boyfriend for a moment, having a sort of pre-consultation about the tattoo. While Hinata cleans his tools, he insists that he knows _exactly_ what he’s going to do.

Hinata knows that Kageyama trusts him and appreciates his artwork every day, so that makes it easier to take artistic license and go nuts.

 

//

 

When everything is said and done, the piece on Kageyama’s back is a companion piece to Hinata’s. There’s a crow in mid-flight with a broken wing, and atop its’ head sits a crooked crown. “When we fly, we fly together,” the redhead explains, “and when _we_ fly, we rise to the top.”

Kageyama stares at the picture of his own back in wonder, amazed and floored. He hadn’t known it was possible to care so much about another person, and to convey it in a picture so beautiful—or at least, he hadn’t known the feeling personally, before he’d met Hinata.

Now, as he topples his boyfriend over for a breathless kiss, Kageyama knows there’s no place he’d rather be than by Hinata’s side.

**Author's Note:**

> i headcanon kags as a pouty bottom, and you can pry this hc from my cold dead hands. also, c281 ruined my life
> 
> anyways, hope you enjoyed the read!! tysm ♥
> 
> tumblr: [@wbtrashking](http://wbtrashking.tumblr.com) / twitter: [@wbtrashking](https://twitter.com/wbtrashking)


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